Possible Solutions
The very first decision in the setup of a business is the identification of all the costs involved. However, in order to arrive at that decision, the chosen solutions have to be identified and clearly stipulated. McDonald has to make decisions pertaining to business premises, equipments required, human resource, raw materials, and transportation. Moreover, it has to pick on the most relevant and economical advertising techniques to apply in the popularizing their products among the people in Kava. All these decisions should be consistent with the company’s belief of giving back to the people (McDonald, 2011). They should also ensure that the company can sustain and advance its business in other parts of Kava without being subdued by the natural calamities associated with it.
The best site for the first location of the business is in Kava’s capital city. Its capital city is centrally located and has a reliable access to all the necessary raw materials that are grown in the vicinity. The population of the city consists of Asians, Africans, French, Spanish and Americans. McDonalds can therefore profit from provision of a variety of foods for these different ethnic groups. Instead of buying land and putting up a building, the company should secure a large rental building that will allow provision of professional services to its customers. This will reduce the risk of loss should the earthquakes or tornados strike (Edmund, n.d.). This building should be located in a raised, secure place in the central business district to ensure faster movement of its products besides shielding it from foods or terrorist attacks.
Having identified the business location, the company should modify the interior to accommodate the food preparation, the raw material stores and the sales locations. These should be no difference from the mother company in order to maintain the company’s culture. Once these have been established, the company should advertise for job vacancies for chefs and sales people. Employing the locals not only will not only create jobs but they will serve as sources of relevant details concerning the right foods to be cooked. Besides, hiring the locals will be cost effective. The management staff should be sourced from the already established branches, as their experience will be much needed in the making of the day-to-day decisions (My Professor.com, n.d).
Next, the company should identify the right products for this new market. Since there are a number of Americans and tourists, existent products can still be sold here. Nonetheless, new additions will have to be made to suit the local the Asians. Products to substitute those with pork content should be identified in order to have the Muslims on board. Offering these varieties will ensure that each and every citizen of Kava has a reason to visit McDonalds. Since a majority of the population consists of people below the age of eighteen majority of the foodstuffs should be appealing to teenagers and kids. Majority raw materials of preparing these foods should revolve around coca, spices, bananas, fish as they are readily available (McDonald, 2011).
Finally, road transport will be most suitable for transportation of the raw materials since petroleum products are readily accessible at favorable prices. Preparation of the foods staffs can be done by gas as it also readily available (My Professor.com, n.d.). Newspapers and televisions should be used for advertising as they reach a bigger target group.
Analysis of the decision-making technique
The method applied in arrival of the above decisions is PMI. This stands for plus, minus and interesting. In this method, the positive or advantages of making a particular decision are listed followed by all the disadvantages that could arise from its application. All the aspects that can neither be classified as positives nor negatives are treated as interesting (Edmund, n.d). Depending on the weight of each category, a decision is either discarded or up taken. For instance, in the case of raw materials, the company could hire a private transporter, insist the transporters delivery all the raw materials to its premises or they could do all the delivery themselves. The decision to hire a private transporter may or may not require the company to hire a driver or to buy a car. However, the costs saved will be used to cover the transporters profit margin. Insisting on the suppliers delivery could result in purchase of goods at high prices due to the limited knowledge of the market trends.
Moreover, the transport costs involved will be added to the commodity prices. If McDonalds opts to take care of the transport itself, it will save on the fuel charges as fuel is available, it will have updated knowledge of the market and will hire the transport staff who are readily available cheap (My Professor.com, n.d). The last option seems to have the highest number of advantages thus it is taken as the right one.
PMI and Critical Thinking
Considering the elements of critical thinking, this method is efficient in the arrival of the appropriate decisions. Evaluation of the costs of raw materials and transportation is done based on the current prices. These ensure that the decisions are made supported by accurate facts and not just opinions. All the causes and effects of the particular decisions are evaluated in order to come up with the relevant advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the logical fallacies and faulty reasoning are countered by the appropriate proof of the positive or negative aspect proposed. This ensures all the decisions will not only ensure the company profits from the venture but also every citizen in Kava to have a reason to visit McDonalds.
References
Edmund N. (n d). Decision Making.
McDonald (2011). Mission and Vision. Web.
My Professor.com (n d). McDonald’s Corporation: the Past, Present, and Future.